Vehicle compass system with continuous automatic calibration

ABSTRACT

The compass system of the present invention utilizes an improved calibration routine in which a processing circuit of the compass recalibrates the compass each time three data points are obtained from a magnetic field sensor that meet predetermined criteria. One such criterion is that the three data points define corners of a triangle that is substantially non-obtuse. When three data points have been obtained that define a triangle meeting this criterion, the processing circuit calculates a center point for a circle upon which all three data points lie by solving the equation x 2 +y 2 +Ax+By+C= 0  for A, B, and C, using the coordinate values (x,y) for the three data points and defining the center point as (−A/2, −B/2).

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/663,954,filed Sep. 16, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,857,194 which is a continuationof 09912,273 Jul. 24, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,643,941 filed Jul. 24,2001 which is a continuation of 09320,924 May 27, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No.6,301,794 filed May 27, 1999, the disclosures of which are herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to magnetic direction sensing systems andparticularly those for use in vehicles.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,305, assigned to the present assignee, discloses amagnetic field sensor and microprocessor-controlled compass system for avehicle. The system utilizes flux-gate magnetic sensors to sense themagnitude of the earth's magnetic field in two channels of measurement.The sensor data, if plotted on an X-Y Cartesian coordinate plane, wouldbe as shown in FIG. 1. For a properly calibrated compass, the plot ofsensor data creates a perfect circle centered around the origin of thecoordinate plane when the vehicle travels in a 360° loop, as indicatedby graph A of FIG. 1. The radius of the circle represents the detectedearth's magnetic field strength, and the vehicle's compass heading at aparticular time during travel is represented by a point on the circle.By calculating the angle at which the point forms with the X-Ycoordinate plane, the compass heading of the vehicle may be determined.As is known, depending on the location of the vehicle, the detectedmagnitude of the earth's magnetic field can vary significantly.

The sensed magnetic field will also be affected if there is a change invehicular magnetism. Changes in the magnetism of a vehicle can be causedby, for example, driving the vehicle near the electrical power feedersof train or subway systems, installing a magnetic cellular antennae onthe vehicle's roof, parking under an AC powerline, or even drivingthrough a car wash, which can flex the sheet metal in the vicinity ofthe compass sensor and change its magnetic characteristics. Such achange in vehicular magnetism will cause the magnetic field sensed bythe compass channels when the vehicle is heading in a given direction tobe either greater than or less than that expected for a vehicle with nomagnetic interference As a result, the plot of sensor data will beshifted away from the origin of the coordinate plane in some direction,resulting in a pattern such as the circle shown as graph B of FIG. 1when the vehicle travels a 360° loop. The magnitude of the shift ofsensor data from the origin is proportional to the magnitude of thechange in vehicular magnetism.

The compass system of the above-mentioned patent provides automatic andcontinuous calibration to account for changes in the vehicle'smagnetism, and thus the system's reaction to the earth's magnetic fieldduring the life of the vehicle. The calibration system includes meansfor testing the data received from the compass sensor to determine themaximum and minimum signal levels during movement of the vehicle througha completed 360° path of travel however circuitous the path may be. Thisdata is averaged over several such paths of vehicular travel to providecontinuously updated and averaged compensation correction information.The automatic and continuous calibration is capable of correcting thecompass system when the plot of sensor data experiences small shiftsaway from the origin of the coordinate plane due to small drifts invehicular magnetism. The origin of the coordinate plane in thesecircumstances is still contained within the circle plotted when thevehicle travels a 360° loop, and the crossings of the sensor data on theaxes of the coordinate plane are used to calculate the spans of thesignal levels along each axis which determine the center of the circularplot of sensor data. Compensation signals are then generated based onthe difference between the center of the circle and the origin of thecoordinate plane. However, if the shift of sensor data is large enoughsuch that the origin of the coordinate plane is not contained within thecircular plot of sensor data created when the vehicle travels a 360°loop, then heading information cannot Le calculated and the calibrationsystem cannot provide correction in this somewhat unusual situationunless the sensor data experiences a subsequent shift that causes theorigin of the coordinate plane to again be contained. Because such asubsequent shift may never occur or, if it does, may occur only after anundesirably long period of time, the compass system of theabove-mentioned patent provides means to reinitiate calibration in thesesituations.

Reinitiation of calibration involves the collecting and centering ofspans of sensor data followed by the collecting and centering of twocircles of sensor data, which causes the origin of the coordinate planeto coincide with the center of the circular plot of sensor data. Assuch, the reinitiation process enables the compass system to recoverfrom any change in vehicular magnetism and to provide accurate headinginformation. In order to detect situations where reinitiation of thecalibration system is desirable, it is known to have the compass systemmaintain saturation limits at the outer boundaries of the range ofmeasurement of the sensor data. For 8-bit sensor data, these saturationlimits are at 0 and 255, as shown in FIG. 1. If a large change invehicular magnetism causes the sensor data to shift and the current datais plotted outside of these limits for a continuous period of fiveminutes, then calibration is restarted. Such a shift is shown by graph Cof FIG. 2, with the dashed portion thereof indicating the range ofheading directions of the vehicle that would cause the sensor data toremain outside of the saturation limits. However, intermediate changesin vehicular magnetism are possible which, while causing the plot ofsensor data to shift and to not contain the origin of the coordinateplane when the vehicle completes a 360° loop, do not cause the sensordata to be plotted outside of the saturation limits. Such a shift isshown by graph D of FIG. 3. As such, it is known to also provide for areinitiation of calibration if 15 ignition cycles of at least 5 minutesduration are completed without obtaining a crossing point on the axes ofthe X-Y coordinate plane. Furthermore, it is known to enable theoperator of the vehicle to manually reinitiate calibration by operatinga switch, button, or the like. Manual reinitiation would most likelyoccur when the operator notices that the displayed heading informationis erroneous for an extended period of time. Although theabove-mentioned means by which to cause reinitiation of calibrationenables the compass system to ultimately recover from changes invehicular magnetism of any magnitude, such reinitiation is considered arather extreme measure since it requires the clearing of all priorsensor readings and calibration data. Thus, until sufficient data iscollected to calibrate the system, the system operates in anuncalibrated state.

Although this system is a substantial improvement in vehicle compassoperation and provides more accurate heading information over differingoperating conditions, its somewhat lengthy averaging process and methodof gradual compensation makes it primarily suited for the compensationof slow and gradual changes in vehicular magnetism. As such, thiscompass system may be unable to adequately compensate for and recoverfrom an abrupt and significant change in vehicular magnetism caused by,for example, driving the vehicle near the electrical power feeders oftrain or subway systems. Thus, such an event may cause a substantialimpairment of compass operation resulting in at least short-termerroneous heading information to be displayed until recalibration orreinitialization of the system is achieved.

Further, a particular problem with vehicular magnetism exists beforesale of a new vehicle to a customer. At this time, the vehicle may besubstantially magnetized due to either the manufacturing process or themethod of delivery of the vehicle to the dealer. In order to ensure thatthe compass system is providing accurate heading information uponinitial power-up by the customer, changed or existing vehicularmagnetism must be compensated for or eliminated. The means chosen toperform this function should be easy and efficient so that servicing ofthe vehicle is avoided and should be capable of being performed eitherat the factory or at individual dealerships. Although factorycompensation of a new vehicle's compass has been standard practice formany years, current methods have proven to be inadequate. For example,eliminating the magnetism requires special degaussing equipment that isvery expensive, and assigning the duty of manual calibration to themanufacturer or to individual dealers is problematic. One method ofcompass compensation at the factory involves identifying the magneticfield at a particular-location and, when the vehicle is positioned in apredetermined direction at this location, providing calibration signalsto correct for any differences in the displayed heading and the knownheading for the existing magnetic field at said position along theassembly line. This method is problematic in that a magnetically stablelocation may be impossible to maintain in a factory environment due tothe possibility of stray or changing magnetic fields and disturbanceswhich would potentially cause miscalibration of the compass resulting inerroneous heading information being displayed.

The compass system disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No.5,737,226, entitled VEHICLE COMPASS SYSTEM WITH AUTOMATIC CALIBRATION,issued on Apr. 7, 1998, operates substantially similar to that in theabove-described U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,305, except that it utilizes amodified control program that calibrates the compass system utilizingonly two averaged data points and one raw data point obtained fromtravel of the vehicle in less than a complete closed loop for purposesof calibrating the compass system during initialization followingmanufacture and at such times that the compass system determines thatthe obtained sensor data falls outside the saturation thresholds thatpreviously required reinitialization of the compass system. Thus, thecompass system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,737,226 allowed the compasssystem to become calibrated much more quickly following manufacture andto recover more quickly when the sensor data is detected as beingoutside the saturation threshold limits.

The manner by which the compass system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,737,226 recalibrates itself by identifying the center of a circularplot of data is described below with reference to FIG. 4. When a vehiclemaces a slight turn, the data obtained from the sensors may take theform of the arc shown when plotted relative to Cartesian coordinates.The starting point T of the arc shown corresponds to the output of thesensors obtained just prior to the vehicle starting the turn. As thevehicle makes a turn, intermediate raw data points, such as point U, areread from the sensors. At the completion of the turn, the data pointderived from the sensor output signals would correspond to ending pointV. To perform a calculation of the center W of the arc (or center ofcircle F), it is desirable that starting point T and ending point V aredata points in which there is a fair to high level of confidence intheir accuracy. Such confidence in the data points may be present whenthe sensor outputs remain at a constant level for a predetermined periodof time as would be the case when the vehicle is traveling straight. Thecenter W of the plotted arc is calculated by assuming a predeterminedvalue for the radius r and identifying the two points that are adistance r from both starting point T and ending point V. Todiscriminate between the two points thus obtained, an intermediate rawdata point U is referenced, since the true center point will be thatwhich is farthest away from intermediate point U.

To ensure at least a minimal amount of accuracy, the compass system willnot recalibrate using two data points that are less than a predetermineddistance a away from one another. This predetermined distance criterionrepresents a trade-off between accuracy and rapid calibration. Becausethe disclosed compass system subsequently utilizes the averaged dataobtained using the calibration technique disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.4,953,305, the sacrifice of accuracy only temporarily affects thecompass system.

Although the above compass system solves some of the problems associatedwith the compass system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,305, it doesnot increase the speed at which the compass system compensates for lesssignificant changes in vehicular magnetism. For example, so long as thesignals from the sensors do not exceed the saturation threshold butnevertheless exhibit a change in vehicular magnetism, the compass systemdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,737,226 would rely upon the calibrationtechnique disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,305, whereby the center ofthe new circle would not be obtained until the vehicle travels through acomplete new 360° loop. Further, in such an event, the center of the newcircle would be averaged with that of the prior circle thereby furtherslowing down the responsiveness of the compass system to such abrupt andless significant changes in vehicular magnetism.

Because compass systems employing magnetic-inductive sensors do notrequire the use of the analog-to-digital converters utilized by compasssystems having flux-gate or magneto-resistive sensors, magneto-inductivecompass systems are not confined by the saturation limits or dynamicrange of an analog-to-digital converter. Thus, if the calibrationtechnique disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,737,226 were implemented in amagneto-inductive compass system, the sensor outputs would never exceedin a saturation threshold and thus the quick calibration techniqueemploying two points of data would not be used even when the changes invehicular magnetism are significant.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,462 also discloses a compass system thatrecalibrates itself using data obtained during such time that thevehicle travels in less than a complete 360° loop. As illustrated inFIG. 5, the compass system disclosed in this patent calculates thecenter of a circle utilizing three data points. In particular, thiscompass system determines the coordinates (X₀, Y₀) of the center of thecircle by determining the coordinates of the intersection point ofperpendicular bisectors of lines drawn between the first and second datapoints and between the second and third data points. This compass systemrecalculates the center of the circle each time a new data point isdetected. When a new data point is detected, the compass system utilizesthis new data point with the two most recent of the prior three datapoints. Thus, this system continuously calibrates using just three datapoints. Because this compass system does not establish any criterion foraccepting data points used to calculate the center of the circle, andbecause this system apparently throws out the previously calculatedcenter point each time a new center point is calculated, the system isnot very accurate. For example, if a newly obtained data point isoff-set from the prior circle due to travel across railroad tracks, thecompass system will become improperly calibrated based upon this oneinaccurate data point.

Thus, there exists a need for a compass compensation system capable ofmore accurately compensating for and recovering from abrupt changes invehicular magnetism regardless of the significance of the change andhaving the capability to more efficiently and more accurately compensatefor the initial vehicular magnetism of a new vehicle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to solve the aboveproblems and satisfy the above-noted needs. A more specific aspect ofthe present invention is to provide an electronic compass system thatrecalibrates in a manner that is more responsive to sensed changes invehicular magnetism. An additional aspect of the present invention is toprovide an electronic compass system that accurately calibrates itselfinitially and continuously thereafter using only three points of dataderived from the sensor output signals. Yet another aspect of thepresent invention is to provide an electronic compass calibrationprocess that fully utilizes the dynamic range available whenmagneto-inductive sensors are utilized. Still another aspect of thepresent invention is to provide a compass calibration system thatestablishes acceptance criteria for the three points of data obtainedfrom the sensors and used for calibration so as to ensure a sufficientdegree of accuracy of the compass system.

To achieve these and other aspects and advantages, the electroniccompass system of the present invention comprises a magnetic fieldsensor for detecting the earth's magnetic field and for generatingelectrical signals representing the direction of the vehicle's travel inrelation to the earth's magnetic field, and a processing circuit coupledto the sensor for processing the electrical signals generated by thesensor to provide a vehicle direction output signal representative ofthe vehicle's current heading. The processing circuit processes theelectrical signals generated by the sensor by translating the electricalsignals into data points represented by their coordinates with respectto an origin. The processing circuit calibrates the system byrecalculating coordinates of a center point of a circle defined by aplot of the data points that are derived as the vehicle travels througha non-linear path and determining offset compensation corresponding tothe offset of the center of the circle with respect to the origin. Theprocessing circuit calibrates the system when three data points aredetected that define corners of a triangle meeting predeterminedcriteria.

Preferably, the processing circuit determines that a triangle defined bythe three data points meets the predetermined criteria when the triangleis substantially non-obtuse. The processing circuit preferablydetermines that the three points of data define corners of asubstantially non-obtuse triangle by computing the lengths of the sidesof such a triangle and determining whether the relationship of thelengths of the sides satisfy the relationship √{square root over(a²+b²)}/c≧0.92. The processing circuit preferably calculates the centerpoint coordinates by solving the equation x²+y²+Ax+By+C=0 for A, B, andC using the coordinate values (x, y) for the three data points, anddefining the center point as (−A/2, −B/2).

These and other features, advantages, and objects of the presentinvention will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled inthe art by reference to the following specification, claims, andappended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a graph illustrating the ideal signal representing the sensedmagnetic field of the earth when the vehicle travels in a 360° loop, andthe signal after a change in vehicular magnetism;

FIG. 2 is a graph illustrating the signal representing the sensedmagnetic field of the earth after a large change in vehicular magnetismcausing the saturation limits of a compass utilizing either flux-gate ormagneto-resistive sensors to be exceeded;

FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating the signal representing the sensedmagnetic field of the earth after an intermediate change in vehicularmagnetism;

FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating the ideal signal from the magnetic fieldsensor and the signal after a change in vehicular magnetism whereby thecenter of the circle obtained after the change in magnetism isdetermined in accordance with the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 5,737,226;

FIG. 5 is a graph illustrating the manner by which the compass systemdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,462 calculates the center of a circle;

FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating the calibration method according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of a vehicle embodying thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 is an electrical circuit diagram in block form of the compasssystem embodying the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an electrical circuit diagram in block form of the interfacecircuit shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an electrical circuit diagram in schematic form of anexemplary oscillator used in the interface circuit shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a state diagram illustrating the order in which the statemachine constituting the compass control circuit changes betweenoperating states;

FIG. 12 is a state table showing the outputs of the state machine foreach operating state;

FIG. 13 is a graph illustrating the preferred measurement range systemof the present invention, the ideal signal representing the sensedmagnitude and direction of the earth's magnetic field, and the signalafter a change in vehicular magnetism;

FIGS. 14A-14E are flow charts illustrating the flow of operations of amain control loop for the compass control routine as executed bymicroprocessor 44 shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating the flow of operations for a TWITsubroutine executed as part of the main control loop shown in FIGS.14A-14E;

FIGS. 16A-16C are flow diagrams representing the flow of operationsperformed during a resolution setting subroutine executed as part of themain control loop of the compass control routine illustrated in FIGS.14A-14E;

FIG. 17 is a flow chart illustrating the flow of operations for anignition toggle subroutine executed as part of the main control loopshown in FIGS. 14A-14E;

FIG. 18 is a graph illustrating the manner by which the compass systemidentifies crossing points and calculates the circle spans in the X andY directions;

FIG. 19 is a graph illustrating a radius-checking filter techniqueemployed by the process of the present invention;

FIG. 20 is a graph illustrating the MINDIST test utilized in the processof the present invention for filtering data points;

FIG. 21 is a graph illustrating the obtuse triangle check utilized bythe process of the present invention;

FIG. 22 is a graph illustrating the too-acute triangle test utilized bythe process of the present invention; and

FIG. 23 is a graph illustrating the manner by which the compass systemof the present invention discriminates between calculated center pointsto obtain a current center point to be used for compass calibration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Overview

The present invention relates to the manner in which a compass processorprocesses raw data obtained from magnetic field sensors and calibratesthe system so as to generate an output signal representing the vehicle'scurrent heading. As will be described in more detail below following thedescription of the compass system hardware, the compass processorcontinuously calibrates by continuously recomputing the center of acircular plot of data based upon three processed data points. Morespecifically, the processor translates the electrical signals suppliedfrom the sensors into raw data points, filters and averages the raw datapoints, and plots three averaged and filtered data points meetingspecified criteria as a first candidate data point (x₁, y₁), a secondcandidate data point (x₂, y₂), and a third candidate data point (x₃,y₃). The processor then solves the three equations below to determinethe values for A, B, and C:x₁ ²+y₁ ²+Ax₁+By₁+C=0 x₂ ² +y ₂ ² +Ax ₂ +By ₂ +C=0x ₃ ² +y ₃ ² +Ax ₃ +By ₃ +C=0

The processor next defines the center point of the circle defined by thethree data points as (−A/2, −B/2) and defines the radius (r) of thecircle as r=√{square root over ((A²+B²−4C)/4)}.

Because the calibration of the compass is dependent upon eachcalculation of the center of the circle, the compass processor subjectsthe raw data obtained from the sensors to certain raw data filteringprocesses and then averages a predetermined number of the processed andfiltered raw data to obtain averaged data points. This averaged data isthen subjected to filtering to obtain filtered averaged data. Theprocessor then determines whether the filtered averaged data meetspredetermined criteria to qualify as one of three candidate data pointsthat are used to calculate the center of a new circle. One criterion theprocessor applies to the three candidate data points thus obtained is todetermine whether the triangle that is defined by the three candidatedata points is an obtuse triangle. In general, if the triangle is anobtuse triangle, the compass processor will not use these threecandidate data points to calculate the center of a new circle, but willcontinue to obtain new filtered averaged data points until three pointsare detected that define a non-obtuse triangle. The specific manner bywhich the compass processor filters and processes the raw data toidentify averaged data points, and the specific manner by which theprocessor filters and applies various criteria to the averaged datapoints, are defined in more detail below following a description of thecompass system hardware.

Although the preferred embodiment implements the processing andcalibration techniques of the present invention in a compass systemutilizing magneto-inductive sensors, the calibration and processingtechniques of the present invention may also be employed in compasssystems utilizing flux-gate or magneto-resistive sensors. To enable amore complete understanding of the detailed manner by which a compassprocessor performs the calibration and processing techniques of thepresent invention, a detailed description of the compass system hardwareis first described followed by the more detailed description of theprocessing of the raw data obtained using the exemplary hardwaredescribed below.

Compass System Hardware

In FIG. 7, there is shown a vehicle 10 such as an automobile whichincludes an overhead console 12 mounted to the roof 14 of the vehicleduring manufacture, although it could be separately added at a latertime. Console 12 is centered near the top edge of windshield 16typically above the rearview mirror 18 and includes a pair of switches20 for operating lamps positioned behind lenses 22 which in turn directillumination into the lap area of either the driver or passenger side ofthe vehicle depending on which switch is actuated. The center of theconsole includes a trainable garage door opening transmitter 24 of thetype disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,614,891, entitledVEHICLE ACCESSORY TRAINABLE TRANSMITTER, and issued on Mar. 25, 1997.This trainable transmitter can learn the RF frequency, modulationscheme, and security code for up to three existing remote transmitters.Thus, console 12 including trainable transmitter 24 can replace threeseparate remote control transmitters usually loosely stored in thevehicle. The transmitter includes three control switches 26, 28, and 30,and an indicator LED 32 for the display of training prompting andoperating information to the vehicle operator. Console 12 also includesa display panel 34, the center of which includes a digital display 52providing, in one embodiment of the invention, a 16-point compassdisplay of the vehicle heading. Console 12 also includes display controlbuttons 38 for selecting information to be displayed. Also mounted inconsole 12 is the compass circuit shown in FIG. 8.

Referring now to FIG. 8, the compass system of the present inventionincludes a magnetic field sensor 39 coupled to a microprocessor 44through an electrical interface circuit 46. In the preferred embodiment,sensor 39 is comprised of individual sensors 40 and 42 which senseseparate orthogonal components of the earth's magnetic field, andmicroprocessor 44 is a HC05 8-bit microprocessor manufactured by theMotorola Corporation. Microprocessor 44 and circuit 46 are coupled viaserial communication lines 45 and 47, and comprise a processing circuitfor processing electrical signals supplied from sensors 40 and 42. Alsocoupled to microprocessor 44 in a conventional manner is a non-volatilememory circuit 48 for storing compass data, a speed sensor 41, a GPSdevice 43, a display driver 50, and a display 52 for displaying headinginformation to the operator of the vehicle. Power supply circuit 54provides operating voltage to the various electrical components of thecompass system. The functioning and interconnection of these circuits isnow described in greater detail.

Magnetic field sensors 40 and 42 sense the horizontal components of themagnetic field external to the vehicle. Sensor 42 senses the east/westor Channel 1 components of the field, and sensor 40 senses thenorth/south or Channel 2 components of the field. As is described below,the magnetic field sensed by sensor 40 is said to have a positivepolarity if it is in the north direction, and is said to have a negativepolarity if it is in the south direction. Similarly, the magnetic fieldsensed by sensor 42 is said to have a positive polarity if it is in theeast direction, and is said to have a negative polarity if it is in thewest direction. Although the reference to the sensing directions of thesensors as being north, south, east, and west is literally accurate onlywhen the vehicle is traveling north, these relative terms referring todirection are utilized hereinafter to refer to the component directionsof the sensed eternal magnetic field. For example, sensor 40 is orientedto sense the component of the earth's magnetic field existing along anaxis corresponding to the vehicle's direction of travel, and sensor 42is oriented to sense the component existing in a direction perpendicularto the vehicle's direction of travel.

In the preferred embodiment, sensors 40 and 42 are magneto-inductivesensors, each having a wire-wound high magnetic permeability coreconstructed of Metglas 2705 M available from Allied Signal Corporation.Preferably, the core has dimensions of 0.020 inch×0.600 inch×0.001 inch,and is wound with approximately 2000 turns of 41 gauge AWG wire. Asdescribed in greater detail below, sensors 40 and 42 of the preferredembodiment serve as inductive elements in an oscillator circuit formedwith portions of interface circuit 46, with the inductance of aparticular sensor being dependent on the magnitude of the magnetic fieldin that sensor's direction of measurement. Through the generation ofelectrical signals having a frequency that varies with the externalmagnetic field, the vehicle direction can be ascertained. Althoughsensors 40 and 42 are magneto-inductive sensors in the preferredembodiment, other types of sensors, such as magneto-resistive sensors,can be implemented if appropriate changes are made to the compasssystem. Sensors 40 and 42 may also be replaced by a flux-gate sensor ormagneto-resistive sensor.

Shown in FIG. 9 is interface circuit 46, which couples magneto-inductivesensors 40 and 42 to the microprocessor 44. In the preferred embodiment,circuit 45 includes a driver circuit 56, a compass control circuit 53,an 3-bit Channel 1 resolution resister 60, an 8-bit Channel 2 resolutionregister 62, an 8-bit equality comparator 64, a division circuit 66, an8-bit ripple counter 68, a 16-bit up/down counter 70, a 16-bit Channel 1output register 72, and a 10-bit Channel 2 output register 74. Thefunctioning and interconnection of these circuits is now described ingreater detail.

Driver circuit 56 of interface circuit 46 and sensors 40 and 42 form anoscillator 57 in which sensors 40 and 42 serve as inductive elements andfrom which electrical signals are generated which represent the sensedmagnetic field external to the vehicle. The structure of such a circuitis shown in FIG. 10 and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,239,264, issued onAug. 24, 1993, entitled ZERO-OFFSET MAGNETOMETER HAVING COIL AND CORESENSOR CONTROLLING PERIOD OF AN OSCILLATOR CIRCUIT, assigned toPrecision Navigation, Inc., the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference. A brief description of the functioning of thiscircuit in connection with the other components of interface circuit 46is now provided.

In order to obtain compass heading information, the output frequency ofoscillator circuit 57 is dependent on the level of internal inductanceof the sensors. Oscillator circuit 57 is configured such that each ofsensors 40 and 42 serves as the inductive element of circuit 57 atalternating times as described in the above-mentioned patent. The levelof inductance provided by sensors 40 and 42, and thus the outputfrequency of circuit 57, are dependent on the magnitude and direction ofthe external magnetic field as well as the direction of the magneticfield created by the current fed to the sensor. As shown in FIG. 10,oscillator 57 includes a channel oscillator 57 a for driving sensor 40and a channel sensor 57 b for driving sensor 42. Each channel oscillator57 a, 57 b preferably includes a gating element 121 having AND gates 122and 124 with inputs connected to the output of the channel oscillatorand respective input enable lines 96N, 96S, 96E, and 96W that arecoupled to compass control circuit 58. The outputs of AND gates 122 and124 are respectively coupled to different ends of the sensors (40, 42)through impedance matched timing resistors 115 and 117. The two ends ofeach sensor 40, 42 are also connected to the input of a Schmitt trigger111 via normally open switches 130 and 131, respectively. Switches 130and 131 are independently controlled by the enable signals output fromcompass control circuit 58. By closing switches 130 and 131 one at atime, compass control circuit 53 changes the bias polarity of thechannel oscillators 57 a and 57 b causing the channel oscillators tochange the end of the sensor to which a driving current is supplied. Thebias polarity of channel oscillator 57 a is deemed to be positive if itis biased to apply current to the north end of sensor 40, and isnegative if it is biased so as to apply current to the south end ofsensor 40. Similarly, the bias polarity of channel-oscillator 57 b isdeemed to be positive if it is biased to apply current to the east endof sensor 42, and is negative if it is biased so as to apply current tothe west end of sensor 42. As shown in FIG. 10, oscillator 57 isconfigured so that each of sensors 40 and 42 can be fed current fromeither of their ends. The detailed operation of oscillator 57 isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,239,264.

The frequency of the signal output from oscillator circuit 57, which isdependent on the magnitude and direction of the external magnetic fieldand the bias polarity of the channel oscillator connected therein, has abase or zero magnetic field frequency when no magnetic field is presentin the measurement direction of the connected sensor. With a positivebias polarity of channel oscillator 57 a, the output frequency ofoscillator 57 decreases from this base frequency when the magnetic fieldstrength increases in the north (positive) direction, and increases fromthe base frequency when the magnetic field strength increases in thesouth (negative) direction. If the bias polarity of channel oscillator57 a is negative, then the output frequency of oscillator 57 increasesfrom the base frequency when the magnetic field strength increases inthe north (positive) direction, and decreases from the base frequencywhen the magnetic field strength increases in the south (negative)direction. When channel oscillator 57 b has a positive bias polarity,the output frequency of oscillator 57 decreases from the base frequencywhen the magnetic field strength increases in the east (positive)direction, and increases from the base frequency when the magnetic fieldstrength increases in the west (negative) direction. If the biaspolarity of channel oscillator 57 b is negative, then the outputfrequency of oscillator 57 increases from the base frequency when themagnetic field strength increases in the East (positive) direction, anddecreases from the base frequency when the magnetic field strengthincreases in the West (negative) direction. Thus, by analyzing theoutput frequency of oscillator circuit 57 when a channel oscillator isbiased at a known bias polarity and comparing that frequency to the basefrequency, compass heading information may be obtained.

Interface circuit 46 analyzes the electrical signals provided byoscillator circuit 57 by determining for each channel oscillator afrequency difference between signals output from oscillator 57 for eachdifferent bias polarity. Specifically, interface circuit 46 measures theoutput frequency by converting the electrical signals into data signalsand determining the time period measured as the number of fixed duration“counts” required for the signals from oscillator circuit 57 to completea particular number of cycles. The count value increases as thefrequency of oscillation decreases. For each channel, interface circuit46 measures the number of counts required for signals output fromcircuit 57 to complete a particular number of cycles for each biaspolarity of the corresponding channel oscillator and determines adifference in the number of counts associated with the two differentbias polarities of the corresponding channel oscillator. By calculatingthe difference between the count values associated with the positive andnegative bias polarities of each channel oscillator, a zero-compensatedcount value, or data signal, is generated for each sensor. Such a countvalue represents the actual field strength in the measurement directionof a sensor and is zero if the magnetic field is zero. As described ingreater detail below, each count of these zero-compensated count valuesrepresents a particular level of magnetism, with the milligauss to countratio of a count value determined by the number of cycles completed byoscillator circuit 57 for both bias polarities of the channel oscillatorgenerating that zero-compensated count value. A description of theindividual components of interface circuit 46 to implement the biaspolarity switching method is now described.

Referring to FIG. 9, Channel 1 resolution register 60 is an 8-bitregister that stores a value which determines the number of cycles to becompleted by the output signal of oscillator circuit 57 for themeasurement period of each bias polarity of channel oscillator 57 b.Similarly, Channel 2 resolution register 62 is an 8-bit register thatstores a value which determines the number of cycles to be completed forthe measurement period of each bias polarity of channel oscillator 57 a.As described below, these values determine the level of resolutionachieved by the compass system and may be adjusted by microprocessor 44by means of adjustment signals via input line 45. Division circuit 66receives the electrical signal generated by oscillator circuit 57 vialine 59 and divides this signal by a particular number (8 in thepreferred embodiment). The resulting signal is supplied to ripplecounter 68 via line 67. Ripple counter 68 is an 8-bit counter thatcounts the number of cycles completed by the input signal received fromdivision circuit 66. As described below, counter 68 counts the number ofcycles completed for each bias polarity of the channel oscillators foreach of sensors 40 and 42, with the counter being cleared before eachcounting period by means of connection to compass control circuit 58 vialine 76. The electrical signal generated by oscillator circuit 57 isdivided by circuit 66 before being input to counter 68, thus dividingthe frequency of the signal by 8 (in the preferred embodiment), becauseit is desirable to enable 8-bit ripple counter 68 (capable of countingto 255) to count more than the equivalent of 255 cycles of the originalelectrical signal. By counting more cycles, counter 68 enables thecompass system to work with more averaged sensor information which ismore reliable.

Equality comparator 64 of FIG. 9 is an 8-bit comparator which comparesthe value of ripple counter 68 with the stored value of whichever one ofresolution registers 60 or 62 is enabled by compass control circuit 58via lines 78 or 80. If the two compared values are equal, comparator 64outputs a signal (REQUAL=1) to compass control circuit 58 via line 82.Up/down counter 70 is a 16-bit counter that serves to calculate the timeperiod or count value required for a particular number of cycles to becompleted by the output signal from oscillator circuit 57 which iseventually indicated by an output signal (REQUAL=1) from equalitycomparator 64 sent to circuit 53. As described below, counter 70ultimately holds the difference between the count values measured duringthe two bias polarities of the channel oscillator for a particularsensor. Via input line 84, counter 70 counts according to a clock signalhaving a frequency which is selected such that counter 70 will not rollover (count beyond its measurement range) when making its time periodcalculations. In the preferred embodiment, the clock frequency is 250kHz. The counting of counter 70 is controlled by its multipleconnections with compass control circuit 58, with a signal (U/D) appliedon the U/D input line 86 determining whether counter 70 counts up ordown, a signal (ENABLE) applied on the Lock input line 88 enablingcounter 70 to be locked at a particular measurement reading (for reasonsdiscussed below), and a signal (CLEAR) applied to the RST input line 90enabling counter 70 to be cleared. Channel 1 and Channel 2 outputregisters 72 and 74 are 16-bit registers and, depending on which isenabled by compass control circuit 58 via a signal (Latch_N) on line 92or a signal (Latch_E) on line 94, one receives and stores the countvalue held in counter 70. This zero-compensated count value, or datasignal, is available to microprocessor 44 via output line 47. Compasscontrol circuit 58 is configured as a conventional state machine andcontrols the functioning of interface circuit 46. Using known software,those skilled in the art may readily determine the appropriateconfiguration of the state machine based upon the state diagram shown inFIG. 11 and the state table shown in FIG. 12. In addition to itsconnections described above, circuit 58 enables oscillator circuit 57 tocycle through each of its four modes of operation (positive and negativeoscillation polarities of each of sensors 40 and 42) by means ofconnection to SELECT input lines 96 of device, circuit 56. The operationof compass control circuit 53 is now described with reference to FIGS.11 and 12.

In operation, compass control circuit 58 of interface circuit 46initiates a measurement of the external magnetic field by causingoscillator circuit 57, via SELECT line 96, to enter its first mode ofoperation. Although either of sensors 40 and 42 may be connected tooscillator circuit 57 in the first mode, let us assume that the firstmode of operation involves sensor 40 (Channel 2). In this first statedesignated as “0000” in FIG. 11, compass control circuit 58 outputs thecontrol signals shown for that state in the state table shown in FIG.12. Specifically, circuit 58 outputs a signal (INDELAY=0) to a delaycircuit 77 via line 79. Delay circuit 77 supplies a signal (ODELAY=0) tocircuit 58 via line 81 until it counts a predetermined number of clockpulses of a 250 kHz clock signal applied to delay circuit 77 via line 84b. In state 0000, circuit 58 enables channel oscillator 57 a with apositive bias by applying a signal (CHL_N=1) via line 96N. In addition,compass control circuit 58 causes ripple counter 68 to be cleared byapplying a signal (RCLEAR=1) via line 76, enables up/down counter 70 byapplying a signal (ENABLE=1) on line 88, causes counter 70 to enter the“counting up” mode of operation by supplying a signal (U/D=0) via line86, and enables Channel 2 resolution register 62 by applying an invertedsignal (RENABLE_E=0) via an inverter 73 and line 80 (while maintainingChannel 1 resolution register 60 in a disabled state by supplying thenon-inverted signal (RENABLE_E=1) via line 78). When delay circuit 77reaches the predetermined count level, it supplies a signal (ODELAY=1)to circuit 58 via line 81. Upon receiving the signal (ODELAY=1) fromdelay circuit 77, circuit 58 enters a second state designated as “0001”in FIG. 11. In this second state, circuit 58 outputs e control signalsshown for this state in state table (FIG. 12). In this second state,circuit 58 releases ripple counter 68 to start counting by supplying asignal (RCLEAR=0) via line 76 and resets and holds delay circuit 77 bysupplying a signal (INDELAY=1) via line 79. Circuit 58 remains in thissecond state only until a first pulse (MAG_OSC=1) is detected as beingoutput from dividing circuit 66 on line 67.

In the third state designated as “0010” in FIG. 11, compass controlcircuit 58 outputs a signal (CLEAR=1) to the reset terminal of up/downcounter 70 via line 90 and a signal (ENABLE=0) to the lock terminal ofup/down counter 70 via line 88 in order to cause up/down counter 70 tobegin counting the input clock pulses supplied via line 84 a. In thefirst mode of operation (states 0001 and 0010), channel oscillatorcircuit 57 a is biased in the positive polarity, with the frequency ofthe resulting electrical signal dependent on the magnitude and directionof the external magnetic field (as described above). As oscillatorcircuit 57 outputs an oscillating signal, the number of cycles of theelectrical signal (divided by 8) is counted by ripple counter 68, whileup/down counter 70 counts up so as to keep track of the elapsed timeperiod. When equality comparator 64 determines that the number of cyclescounted by ripple counter 68 is equal to the value stored in Channel 2resolution register 62, it supplies an output signal (REQUAL=1) tocompass control circuit 58 via line 82. This output signal causescircuit 53 to enter a fourth state designated as “0011” in FIG. 5. Inthis fourth state, compass control circuit 58 changes the output(CHL_N=0) supplied to oscillator 57 on line 96N to cause channeloscillator 57 a to stop providing an output signal. Also, circuit 58outputs a signal (ENABLE=1) on line 88 to lock counter 70 at the timeperiod (counts value) counted to that point, outputs a signal (U/D=1) online 86 to cause counter 70 to enter the “counting down” mode ofoperation, and outputs a signal (RCLEAR=1) on line 76 to clear ripplecounter 68.

Next, compass control circuit 58 enters a fifth state designated as“0100” in FIG. 11 in which it outputs a signal (INDELAY=0) on line 79causing delay circuit 77 to begin timing the predeterminedinitialization period. Circuit 58 also outputs a signal (CHL_S=1) online 96S causing oscillator circuit 57 to enter its second mode ofoperation in which channel oscillator circuit 57 a is negatively biased.Once the predetermined delay has expired, compass control circuit 58enters similar states as previously described and outputs essentiallythe same control signals in the same sequence, except the up/downcounter 70 counts down and channel oscillator 57 a is negatively biased.As oscillator circuit 57 generates an oscillating signal, the number ofcycles of the resulting electrical signal (divided by 8) is counted byripple counter 68 while up/down counter 70, now in an unlocked state,counts down from the stored time period (count value) counted whenchannel oscillator 57 a was positively biased. When equality comparator64 determines that the number of cycles completed by the electricalsignal generated by oscillator circuit 57 (divided by 8) is again equalto the value stored in Channel 2 resolution register 62, then an outputsignal (REQUAL=1) is again supplied to compass control circuit 58 vialine 82. This output signal causes circuit 58 to change states again andlock counter 70 via line 88, with the count value then stored in counter70 being the two's compliment time difference between the twomeasurement periods. This count value is the zero-compensated output, ordata signal, described above and represents the actual field strength inthe measurement direction of sensor 40. If the first measurement periodis longer than the second measurement period such that counter 70 doesnot roll over, then the external magnetic field in the measurementdirection of sensor 40 has a positive (north) polarity, and the countvalue is a positive number. If the second measurement period is longerthan the first measurement period such that counter 70 rolls over, thenthe external magnetic field in the measurement direction of sensor 40has a negative (south) polarity, and the count value is a negativenumber. If the two measurement periods are equal, then the count valueand the magnitude of the external magnetic field in the measurementdirection of sensor 40 are both zero. The zero-compensated count value,or data signal, stored in counter 70 at the end of the secondmeasurement period is supplied to Channel 2 output register 74, whichcan be read by microprocessor 44 via line 47.

The output signal (REQUAL=1) supplied by equality comparator 64 via line82, which causes compass control circuit 58 to change states and to lockcounter 70 after the second measurement period, also causes circuit 58to place counter 70 in the “counting up” mode of operation via line 86,to clear ripple counter 68 and (eventually) up/down counter 70 via lines76 and 90, and to enable Channel 1 resolution register 60 via line 78(while now maintaining Channel 2 resolution register 62 and Channel 2output register 74 in a disabled state via lines 80 and 94). Compasscontrol circuit 58 then causes oscillator circuit 57, via SELECT line96E, to enter its third mode of operation in which channel oscillator 57b is enabled and positively biased. The process continues as describedabove until the fourth mode of operation of oscillator circuit 57 iscompleted (in which channel oscillator 57 b is negatively biased) and azero-compensated count value, or data signal, is supplied to Channel 1output register 72 which can be read by microprocessor 44 via line 47.This count value is a positive number if the external magnetic field inthe measurement direction of sensor 42 has a positive (east) polarity,is a negative number if the magnetic field has a negative (west)polarity, and is zero if the magnitude of the magnetic field is zero.The above process then repeats itself for the next measurement of theexternal magnetic field.

The zero-compensated count values, or raw data signals, generated byinterface circuit 46 and provided to microprocessor 44, representing thesensed magnitude and direction of the magnetic field in the measurementdirection of each of sensors 40 and 42, can be processed and plotted onan X-Y coordinate plane, as shown in FIG. 1. The magnetic field in theeast/west measurement direction of sensor 42 is represented by the Xaxis, and the magnetic field in the north/south measurement direction ofsensor 40 is represented by the Y axis. For a properly calibratedcompass, the plot of compass count values creates a perfect circlearound the origin of the coordinate plane when the vehicle travels in a360° loop as indicated by graph A of FIG. 1. The radius of the circlerepresents the earth's magnetic field strength, and the vehicle'scompass heading at a particular time during travel is represented by apoint on the circle, which is identified by the sensed orthogonalcomponents lying on the X and Y axes. By calculating the angle which thepoint forms with the X-Y coordinate plane, the compass heading of thevehicle may be determined.

It should be noted that the plot of zero-compensated count values, orraw data signals, will be affected if there is a change in vehicularmagnetism. Such a change will cause the magnetic field sensed by thecompass channels when the vehicle is heading in a given direction to beeither greater than or less than that expected for a vehicle with nomagnetic interference. As a result, the plot of count values will beshifted away from the origin of the coordinate plane in some direction,resulting in a circle such as graph B of FIG. 1 when the vehicle travelsa 360° loop. As is described below, microprocessor 44 corrects for anyvehicular magnetism by manipulating the parameters of the measurementrange system so that the origin of He coordinate plane coincides withthe center of the plotted circle. It should also be noted that the plotof zero-compensated count values may be elliptical in nature instead ofa perfect circle as shown as graph H in FIG. 13. The reason for such anelliptical effect is that the construction of the vehicle generallyresults in more vehicle mass along one axis of compass sensing whichcauses the earth's field to penetrate the vehicle differently indifferent directions. This causes the compass channels to not reactuniformly to the earth's field as the vehicle travels in a 360° path oftravel. As is described below, an elliptical plot of zero-compensatedcount values may be corrected to provide a circular plot, wherefrom aheading angle of the vehicle may be calculated, by adjusting theresolution of the compass system.

As mentioned above, oscillator circuit 57 generates a signal thatoscillates for a predetermined number of cycles for the measurementperiod of each bias polarity of each of channel oscillators 57 a and 57b. The values stored in Channel 1 and Channel 2 resolution registers 60and 62 determine the number of cycles to be completed; Because of theinclusion of division circuit 60, the number of cycles completed by theoutput signal of circuit 57 for each bias polarity of the channeloscillators is equal to the value stored in the resolution register(corresponding to that sensor) multiplied by 8. Interface circuit 46calculates a zero-compensated count value for each of sensors 40 and 42,with each count of these zero-compensated count values representing aparticular amount of magnetism. The milligauss to count ratio of azero-compensated count value is determined by the number of cyclescompleted by the output signal from oscillator circuit 57 for both biaspolarities of the channel oscillators generating that count value, withthe exact relationship (dependent on the construction of the sensor andthe clock frequency of counter 70) capable of being ascertained byexperimental means. Thus, by enabling microprocessor 44 to change thevalues stored in registers 60 and 62 by means of adjustment signals vialine 45, the milligauss to count ratio of the zero-compensated countvalues can be increased or decreased.

By adjusting the milligauss to count ratio, the circular plot of countvalues and the resolution of the compass system can be chanced. Forexample, let us assume that the measurement period for each biaspolarity of the channel oscillators consists of 100 cycles of the signaloutput from division circuit 66 (corresponding to a value of 100 storedin resolution register 60 or 62 which equates to 800 cycles ofoscillator circuit 57) and that this corresponds to a zero-compensatedcount value, or data signal, having a milligauss to count ratio of 4:1.In this situation, a change in the actual field strength of 4 milligausswill change the zero-compensated count value by one count. If the numberof cycles of the signal output from division circuit 66 is doubled to200 cycles for the measurement period for each bias polarity of thechannel oscillator of the same sensor (by storing the value of 200 inthe appropriate resolution register), then counter 70 will count twiceas many counts for each bias polarity of the channel oscillators. Assuch, the difference between the count values for the two biaspolarities, the zero-compensated count value, will be twice as large forthe same magnitude of magnetism. This will cause the milligauss to countratio of the zero-compensated count value to be halved, such that eachcount will correspond to 2 milligauss of magnetism instead of 4. Assuch, the number of zero-compensated count values into which theelectrical signals from oscillator circuit 57 can be resolved isincreased, and the span of the plot of count values in the measurementdirection of the particular sensor is twice as large. Similarly, if thenumber of cycles of the signal output from division circuit 66 is halvedfrom the original 100 cycles to 50 cycles for the measurement period foreach bias polarity of the channel oscillators (by storing the value of50 in the appropriate resolution register), then counter 70 will counthalf as many counts for each bias polarity of the channel oscillators,and the zero-compensated count value will be half as large for the samemagnitude of magnetism. This will cause the milligauss to count ratio ofthe zero-compensated count value to be doubled, such that each countwill correspond to 8 milligauss of magnetism instead of 4. As such, thenumber of zero-compensated count values into which the electricalsignals from oscillator circuit 57 can be resolved is decreased, and thespan of the plot of count values in the measurement direction of theparticular sensor is half as large.

If the number of cycles to be completed by the signal generated byoscillator circuit 57 for the measurement period for each bias polarityof the channel oscillators is changed by changing the values stored inboth of resolution registers 60 and 62 by means of adjustment signalsfrom microprocessor 44 via line 45, then the size of the entire circularplot of count values will be adjusted. Specifically, if the number ofcycles for the measurement period of each sensor is increased, then theresolution of the compass system and the size of the circular plot willbe increased from plot I to plot G in FIG. 13, for example. If thenumber of cycles for the measurement period of each sensor is decreased,then the resolution of the compass system and the size of the circularplot will be decreased from plot J to plot G in FIG. 13, for example. Inthe preferred embodiment, the programming for microprocessor 44 attemptsto maintain the span of count values in the measurement direction ofeach sensor (and thus the size of the circular plot) at a constant value(stored in memory) by manipulating the values stored in resolutionresisters 60 and 62 by means of adjustment signals via line 45 toaccount for changes in the magnitude of the sensed magnetic field of theearth. (Alternatively, the spans of count values may be kept between twostored threshold values.) As described above, the earth's magneticfield, comprised of both horizontal and vertical components, is mostlyhorizontal near the equator and progressively becomes more vertical asone travels into the northern or southern latitudes. Because sensors 40and 42 are oriented to sense the horizontal components of the earth'smagnetic field, the magnitude of the sensed magnetic field is greatestnear the equator and progressively tapers off as a vehicle travels intothe northern or southern latitudes. As such, the adjustment signals ofmicroprocessor 44 increase the number of cycles for the measurementperiod of each sensor, thus enlarging the circle when the vehicletravels away from the equator, and decrease the number of cycles formeasurement period of each sensor, thus reducing the circle when thevehicle travels towards the equator. As described above, it is verybeneficial to enlarge the circular plot when the vehicle travels intothe far northern or southern latitudes of the earth. This causes thecircular plot to be comprised of more count values which can be resolvedinto more angles from which the heading of the vehicle is calculated.This enables more accurate heading information to be provided in suchenvironments.

In addition to compensating for changes in the magnitude of the sensedmagnetic field of the earth, the above process is useful when the plotof count values is initially elliptical in nature instead of the perfectcircle of graph G of FIG. 13. By adjusting the span of count values inthe measurement direction of each sensor so as to move them closer tothe same stored value (or closer to being between two stored thresholdvalues), the elliptical plot (graph H) is transformed into a circularplot (graph G) wherefrom a heading angle of the vehicle may becalculated. Such a correction is usually needed only once when thecompass system is first energized.

It is important to note that changing the values stored in resolutionregisters 60 and 62 by means of adjustment signals via line 45accomplishes much more than just a multiplication of thezero-compensated count values by a particular factor. Such amultiplication, although changing the size of the plotted circle, wouldnot increase or decrease the number of zero-compensated count valuesinto which the electrical signals from oscillator circuit 57 are capableof being resolved. Instead, the number of count values making up theplot of the new circle would be the same as the original circle andwould be capable of being resolved into the same number of angles fromwhich the heading of the vehicle is calculated. By not enabling theresolution of the compass system to be increased, multiplication of thecount values would not enable more accurate heading information to beprovided when the magnitude of the sensed magnetic field of the earth isvery small.

The dynamic operating range of the measurement system of the presentinvention, by means of working with 16-bit information, is large enoughsuch that calibration is achieved purely by software corrections inwhich variables are adjusted according to offset values stored inmemory. Thus, the compass fully utilizes the dynamic range madeavailable through the use of the magneto-inductive sensors. A detaileddescription of the programming for microprocessor 44 to filter andprocess the raw data from interface circuit 46 and to calibrate thesystem and generate heading information from the filtered and processeddata, is provided below with reference to FIGS. 14-22.

Filtering and Calibration Processing

As noted above, the zero-compensated channel data provided tomicroprocessor 44 from interface circuit 46 on line 47 is raw data thathas suspect accuracy due to the possibility that the magnetic field assensed by the sensors may have been obtained in a magnetically noisyenvironment. In the exemplary embodiment discussed above, this raw datais translated by microprocessor 44 from the electrical signals receivedfrom both sensors 40 and 42 approximately 8 times per second. Asexplained above, the raw channel data output from interface circuit 46will have a 16-bit count value obtained from each of sensors 40 and 42.As explained below, microprocessor 44 treats the 16-bit raw channel dataobtained from north/south sensor 40 as the value of the Y coordinate ofa raw data point taken along a Y axis, and treats the 16-bit channeldata obtained from the east/west sensor 42 as the X coordinate valuewith respect to the X axis for that raw data point. As also describedbelow, these X and Y coordinate values are read every ⅛ second and areprocessed for use in determining the vehicle's current heading andrecalibrating the compass system in accordance with the exemplaryprocess outlined in the flow charts shown in FIGS. 14A-14E, 15, and16A-16C.

FIGS. 14A-14E illustrate a main loop of the compass control program 200executed by microprocessor 44. The main loop of compass control routine200 commences in step 201 in which microprocessor 44 determines whetherit is an initial calibration mode. If so, microprocessor 44 executesstep 202 by initializing parameters and clearing various counters andflags that are described in more detail below. Additionally, a defaultvalue of 25 counts is stored in the variable R, which corresponds to theradius of the circular plot of data. The value of variable R isinitially stored in the variable MINDIST, which is also described inmore detail below. Next, microprocessor 44 receives the first raw datapoint consisting of the X and Y values of the channel data received frominterface circuit 46 (step 203). Before accepting this first data point,microprocessor 44 determines whether the vehicle is moving in step 204by reading the vehicle's speed from speed sensor 41. If microprocessor44 determines that the vehicle is moving, it accepts and stores the Xand Y values of the received raw data point in the variables RAWX andRAWY, respectively (step 205). If the vehicle is not moving,microprocessor 44 continues to receive, but not store, the data pointsfrom interface circuit 46 until it detects that the vehicle is moving.

For reasons discussed in detail below, the X and Y values stored in thevariables RAWX and RAWY are also respectively stored in the variablesCENX and CENY and in the respective variables TWITX and TWITY.Subsequently, microprocessor 44 sets the value of a status indicatorTSAT=1 to indicate that an initial raw data point has been obtained andthat the compass system has entered a state whereby it will look for afirst candidate data point to utilize in calibrating the compass (step210). Next, microprocessor 44 receives the next raw data point frominterface circuit 46 (step 212), and checks the vehicle's speed assupplied from speed sensor 41 (step 214). If the vehicle is moving,microprocessor 44 increments a counter A (step 216), which is used tocount the number of consecutive data points that are not excluded by thetwit filtering that is performed by TWIT subroutine 218. The details ofthe operations performed in the TWIT subroutine are described below withreference to FIG. 15.

If in step 201 microprocessor 44 determines that it is not in an initialcalibration mode, it reads calibration numbers previously stored inmemory in step 207 and collects and stores a raw data point in thevariables TWITX and TWITY in step 208 prior to proceeding to step 210where the program performs the operations described above.

The twit filtering performed in TWIT subroutine 218 is provided tofilter out those data points that appear to have X and Y values that areinfluenced by the presence of magnetic noise. As will be apparent fromthe description below, microprocessor 44 performs this twit filtering bycomparing the most recently obtained channel data to the most recentlyobtained non-filtered raw data point and it filters out those datapoints that are beyond a threshold distance from the last raw data pointthat had not been discarded. To perform this function, microprocessor 44begins the TWIT subroutine by subtracting the value stored in thevariable TWITX from the X value of the raw channel data collected instep 212 (FIG. 14A), and compares this value to the values stored in thevariable TWITVAL (step 220). As noted above, the value stored in thevariable TWITX is the same value currently stored in the variable RAWX(see step 208). The value stored in the variable TWITVAL is initiallyset equal to 6 counts (step 202) and is subsequently set to 14 (step304, FIG. 16B). Thus, if the value of the X channel data obtained instep 212 is no more than 6 plus the value stored in the variable TWITX,microprocessor 44 will consider the value of the X channel data to beacceptable and will proceed to step 228 to test the value of the Ychannel data. On the other hand, if the value of the X channel data ismore than 6 counts away from the X value of the most recent unfilteredraw data point that had not been discarded, microprocessor 44 willfilter out the data point collected in step 212 and increment theTWITXCNT counter, which counts the number of consecutive X channeltwits. Microprocessor 44 also increments the TWITCNT counter, whichcounts the total number of twits (filtered out raw data points) thatoccur between the collection of averaged data points (step 222).Additionally in step 222, microprocessor 441 sets a TWIT flag toindicate that a twit has been detected and sets the value of counter Ato zero in order to begin recounting the number of raw data points thatpass the twit filter test.

In step 224, microprocessor 44 checks whether the value of TWITXCNT hasreached 16. If the TWITXCNT counter has reached 16, microprocessor 44will assume that the most recent raw data point that was not filteredout is unreliable, and will then store the value of the most recent Xchannel data in the variable TWITX while clearing the TWITXCNT counter(step 226). By including steps 224 and 226, microprocessor 44 isprevented from continuously filtering out data points that may otherwisebe accurate but are being excluded due to an inaccurate previouslyobtained reference raw data point.

In steps 228-234, microprocessor 44 performs tasks with respect to themost recently collected Y channel data that are the same as thoseperformed in steps 220-226 with respect to the X channel data. Then, asindicated in step 236, the subroutine returns control back to the maincontrol loop at step 218 (FIG. 14A). As shown in FIG. 14B, the next step(238) performed by microprocessor 44 is to check whether the TWITCNTcounter has reached 128. If it has reached 128, microprocessor 44 clearsthe values from the following variables: PX1, PY1, PX2, PY2, PX3, PY3,TWITCNT, TWITXCNT, TWITXCNT, CURX, CURY, 2SECCNT, and A in step 240.Additionally, if TSAT is equal to a value other than 1, TSAT is setequal to 1. Subsequently, microprocessor 44 returns to step 212 (FIG.14A) to collect the next raw data point. The effect of clearing PX1,PY1, PX2, PY2, PX3, and PY3 in step 240 is to clear out any filteredaveraged data points that were previously stored as candidates for useas one of the three data points for calibrating the compass. Asdiscussed below with reference to step 369 (FIG. 14C), the TWITCNTcounter is cleared when a filtered averaged data point is obtained.Therefore, if the magnetic environment in which the compass system isbeing operated is so noisy that the compass system has to filter out 128data points prior to obtaining an averaged data point, the magneticenvironment is presumed to be too noisy to have obtained any prioraveraged data points that are sufficiently reliable to be used incalibrating the compass.

If, in step 238, microprocessor 44 determines that the TWITCNT counterhas not yet reached 128, microprocessor 44 checks whether the TWIT flaghad been set in steps 222 or 230 (step 242). If a twit had been detectedin TWIT subroutine 218 and the TWIT flag had been set, microprocessor 44clears the TWIT flag in step 244, while discarding the X and Y channeldata most recently obtained, and returns to step 212 (FIG. 14A) tocollect the next raw data point.

If microprocessor 44 determines that the TWIT flag had not been set(step 242), it assumes that the most recently collected raw channel datahad not been filtered out by the TWIT subroutine. In this event,microprocessor 44 clears the TWITXCNT and TWITYCNT counters (step 246).Next, microprocessor 44 determines whether it is in an initialcalibration mode (step 250). If it is in an initial calibration mode,microprocessor 44 calls and executes a resolution setting subroutine 252in order to determine whether the resolution of the compass needs to beadjusted. If the microprocessor 44 is in an initial calibration mode, itskips the resolution setting routine 252 and proceeds to step 352, whichis described below.

FIGS. 16A-16C illustrate the steps performed by such a resolutionsetting subroutine 252. In general, resolution setting subroutine 252checks whether the raw data point stored as (RAWX, RAWY) represents amaximum or minimum value with respect to the X or Y axis. To determinewhether the data point is a maximum or minimum value, the most recentlycomputed center point for the circle is used as a reference point (seeFIG. 18). Using the most recent center point as a reference, themicroprocessor looks at the X and Y values of the raw data point todetermine whether the data point represents a “crossing.” The term“crossing” is used because, if the center of the circle coincided withthe origin of the X-Y coordinate axis, a data point on one of these axeswould constitute the maximum or minimum value for X or Y. The manner bywhich these crossings are identified and stored is described below withrespect to steps 254-298 (FIGS. 16A and 16B).

As will also be explained below with reference to the remaining portionof the resolution setting subroutine, the obtained values for thecrossings are used to determine whether the circle is, in fact, anellipse or whether the diameter of the circle in both directions haschanged such that adjustment to the values stored in the resolutionregisters should be adjusted.

The resolution setting subroutine 252 begins with step 254 wherebymicroprocessor 44 first determines whether any previous crossings havebeen obtained. If no crossings had been obtained previously,microprocessor 44 sets a CROSSINGS flag equal to NO. Otherwise,microprocessor 44 sets a. CROSSINGS flag equal to YES in step 258.Microprocessor 44 determines whether the data point is at an X axiscrossing in step 260 by checking whether the value of RAWY is equal tothe value of CENY, which is the Y value for the computed center of thecircle. If RAWY, is not equal to CENY, microprocessor 44 proceeds tostep 280 (FIG. 16B). If RAWY is equal to CENY, microprocessor 44 thendetermines whether the value of RAW-X is greater than CENX (step 262).This step is performed to determine whether the X axis crossingrepresents the maximum X value or the minimum X value. If RAWX isgreater than CENX, microprocessor 44 then determines whether theCROSSINGS flag is equal to NO in step 264. If the CROSSINGS flag hasbeen set to NO, microprocessor 44 recognizes that previous crossingshave not been obtained and therefore stores the absolute value of thedifference in the values of RAWX and CENX in the variable XMAX (step266). If, in step 264, microprocessor 44 determines that CROSSINGS isequal to YES, it Snows that previous crossings have been obtained andthen determines in step 268 whether the difference between the absolutevalue of the values of RAWX and CENX is within 11 counts of thepreviously stored value for XMAX (step 263). If the difference of RAWXand CENX is not within 11 counts of the previously stored value of XMAX,microprocessor 44 does not change the value stored in XMAX. If, on theother hand, the difference between the value stored in RAWX and CENX iswithin 11 counts of XMAX, microprocessor 44 averages the differencebetween RAWX and CENX equally with the previously stored value for XMAXand stores this result as the current value of XMAX (step 270). Byaveraging this difference into the previous value of XMAX, the compasssystem will not overreact to any one raw data point that appears to be acrossing.

If, in step 262, microprocessor 44 determines that RAWX is not greaterthan CENX, it then executes steps 272-278, which correspond to steps264-270 except that the crossing value that is obtained is that of XMINrather than XMAX. After performing these steps, microprocessor 44advances to step 300 (FIG. 16B).

In step 280 (FIG. 16B), microprocessor 44 determines whether the rawdata point is a Y axis crossing. If not, microprocessor 44 advances tostep 300. Otherwise, microprocessor 44 performs steps 282-293, whichcorrespond to steps 262-278 described above except that the crossingvalues to be obtained are either YMAX or YMIN.

In step 300, microprocessor 44 determines whether any crossings weredetected in the previous steps of the resolution setting subroutine. Ifno new crossings were detected, the process returns to step 352 (FIG.14B). If any new crossings are detected, microprocessor 44 calculatesnew values for the spans SPANX and SPANY using the most recentlyobtained values for XMIN, XMAX, YMIN, and YMAX (step 304). Asillustrated in FIG. 18, the sum of XMIN and XMAX is equal to thediameter of the circle in the X direction, while the sum of YMIN andYMAX is the diameter of the circle in the Y direction. Also, in step304, the value of TWITVAL is set to be equal to 14 counts so as toincrease the range of acceptable raw data points that can pass throughthe twit filtering. In step 308, microprocessor 44 determines whethereither of spans SPANX or SPANY falls between 40 and 243 counts. Ifeither SPANX or SPANY does not fall within the 40 to 243 count range,all stored crossing values XMIN, XMAX, YMIN, and YMAX are cleared sothat new crossing values may be obtained (step 310). Once the values arecleared in step 310 or if spans SPANX and SPANY both fall within therange, microprocessor 44 advances to step 316 (FIG. 16C).

The Step 316, microprocessor 44 determines whether the span (SPANX) ofthe circle in the X direction is equal to the span (SPANY) in the Ydirection. If these spans are equal, the microprocessor determines thatthe crossings represent a circle rather than an ellipse and thusadvances to step 320. If, on the other hand, SPANX is not equal toSPANY, microprocessor 44 adjusts the resolution number that is stored inthe resolution register for either the X or Y axis sensor (step 318). Ifthe span in the X direction is smaller than the span in the Y direction,the value of RESX that is stored in the resolution register for the Xaxis sensor is increased. If the span in the Y direction is smaller thanthat in the X direction, the value of RESY as stored in the Y axisresolution register is increased. In this manner, the compass system maycompensate for vehicular magnetism that affects the sensed fielddifferently amongst the X and Y axis sensors.

In step 320, microprocessor 44 computes the circle size (CIRCSIZE) byaveraging together the spans SPANX and SPANY. Then, in step 322,microprocessor 44 determines whether the circle size is equal to 144 asmeasured in counts. If the circle size is equal to 144, microprocessor44 advances to step 326. However, if the circle size is not equal to144, the microprocessor first adjusts both the RESX and RESY resolutionvalues stored in the two resolution registers (step 324) prior toproceeding to step 326. More specifically, if the circle size is lessthan 144, RESX and RESY are increased proportionately so as toeventually obtain and maintain a circle size of a predetermined value,such as 144.

In step 326, the microprocessor determines whether the resolution in theX direction, RESX, is greater than the resolution in the Y direction,RESY. If not, the, program advances to step 332. Otherwise, the programfirst determines whether RESX divided by RESY is equal to or less than 2(step 328). If RESX divided by RELY is greater than 2, themicroprocessor multiplies the value RESY, by 2 in step 330 prior toadvancing to step 332. Step 332 checks whether RESY is greater thanRESY. If not, microprocessor 44 executes step 338. Otherwise, itdetermines whether RESY divided by RESX is less than or equal to 2 (step334). If it is, microprocessor 44 advances to step 338, otherwise itmultiplies the value of RESX by 2 (step 336) prior to proceeding to step338.

In steps 338-344, microprocessor 44 determines whether the value in RESXor RESY is greater than 127. If so, it sets the value of RESX and/orRESY to 127 to prevent these resolution settings from reaching too highof a value. Next, microprocessor 44 executes step 346 in which it scalesvarious parameters if the value of the resolution registers RESX and/orRESY have been changed. The need for such scaling is based upon the factthat the values stored for these variables represents a number of countsgenerated by interface circuit 46. When the resolution is changed, themilligauss per least-significant bit (LSB) of the count value ischanged. Therefore, each previous representation of a data point interms of counts would represent a different value in milligauss andwould not correlate with any new counts obtained from interface circuit46 if these values were not scaled. After the values of MINDIST, CENX,CENY, PREVX, PREVY, PX1, PY1, PX2, PY2, PX3, PY3, TWITX, and TWITY havebeen scaled in step 346, microprocessor 44 returns to step 352 asindicated by the return 348.

Referring back to FIG. 14B, microprocessor 44 averages the values storedin RAWX and RAWY into the values stored for the currently maintainedaverage AVGSUMX and AVGSUMY (step 352). Next, microprocessor 44increments the 2SECCNT counter in step 354 so as to count the number ofraw data points that have been averaged into the current average. Instep 356, the microprocessor checks whether the value of the 2SECCNTcounter has reached 16. If not, the process returns to step 212 in FIG.14A to collect the next raw data Paint. Once microprocessor 44determines that the 2SECCNT counter has reached a count of 16, it clearsthe 2SECCNT counter in step 358 and determines at that point that it hasobtained an averaged data point consisting of 16 filtered raw datapoints. Also in step 358, microprocessor 44 divides the cumulatedaveraged data points AVGSUMX and AVGSUMY by 16 and stores these valuesas CURX and CURY, respectively. Then, in step 359, microprocessor 44updates the vehicle heading using the current data point values CURLXand CURY.

In ideal conditions, whereby 16 consecutive raw data signals areobtained that pass through the TWIT filter, the averaged data will bethe average of received raw data over a two-second average given that 8raw data points are obtained per second. It is nevertheless possible,however, that more than two seconds may elapse before an averaged datapoint is obtained, since some of the raw data points may be filtered outby the twit filtering routine discussed above.

To add a higher level of confidence in the averaged data point that isobtained using the above steps in the microprocessor program,microprocessor 44 subjects the averaged data points thus obtained toadditional filtering steps. The first level of filtering requires thatall 16 raw data points used to compute the averaged data point that isstored in (CURX, CURY) are consecutive raw data points that wereobtained without detection of a twit. As noted earlier, the A counter isincremented in step 216 (FIG. 14A) each time a raw data point iscollected, and is reset to 0 in steps 222 and 230 (FIG. 15) each time araw data point that is collected is filtered out by the twit filteringsubroutine. Thus, by checking whether A has reached a count of 16 instep 300, microprocessor 44 can determine whether the averaged datapoint was obtained using 16 consecutive raw data points. If counter Areaches a count higher than 16, microprocessor 44 clears the valuesrepresenting the averaged data point in (AVGSUMX, AVGSUMY) and resetscounter A back to 0 (step 362) prior to returning to step 212 to collectthe next data point, in which case the current averaged datapoint (CURX,CURY) is not used for subsequent calibration. If the A counter is equalto 16, microprocessor 44 resets A to 0 and clears the valuesrepresenting the averaged data point in (AVGSUMX, AVGSUMY) in step 364prior to proceeding to the next filtering process prescribed by steps365-369.

In the next filtering stage, microprocessor 44 determines in step 365whether it is in an initial calibration mode. If so, microprocessor 44skips steps 366 through 368 and advances directly to step 369. Ifmicroprocessor 44 determines that it is not in an initial calibrationmode, it executes step 366 whereby it checks whether or not the vehiclespeed is greater than 10 miles per hour. If the vehicle speed does notexceed 10 miles per hour, microprocessor 44 will not utilize thefiltered raw data point (CURX, CURY) for purposes of calibration andtherefore returns to step 212 (FIG. 14A) to collect the next raw datapoint. If the vehicle speed exceeds 10 miles per hour, microprocessor 44determines whether the X- and Y-coordinate distances between the currentaveraged data point (CURX, CURY) are less than 2 counts from theprevious averaged data point, which is stored as (PREVX, PREVY) (step367). If the current averaged data point is spaced a distance greaterthan 2 counts from the previous averaged data point, microprocessor 44considers the current averaged data point to be unstable and thereforeclears the current averaged data point (CURX, CURY) as the previousaveraged data point (PREVX, PREVY), and clears the data point (CURX,CURY) in step 368 and returns to step 212 to begin collecting additionalraw data points for the computation of another averaged data point. Ifthe current averaged data point is within 2 counts of the previousaveraged data point, the microprocessor stores the X and Y values of thecurrent averaged data point (CURX, CURY) in the respective variablesPREVX and PREVY (step 369) and clears the TWITCNT counter, since afiltered averaged data point has thus been obtained without the TWITCNTcounter having reached 128. Thus, the TWITCNT counter will have beenreset to begin counting the number of twits occurring thereafter andprior to obtaining the next filtered averaged data point.

The averaged data points as filtered through the two stages defined bysteps 360-364 and steps 365-369 are then subjected to yet another testin step 372 if microprocessor 44 determines in step 370 that it is notin an initial calibration mode. In step 372, the microprocessordetermines whether the distance from the center of the circle (CENX,CENY) (as last determined) to the current filtered averaged data point(CURX, CURY) is either greater than 0.5 times the radius R of the circle(as last computed) or is less than 1.5 times the radius R as would bethe case for the points (X₃, Y₃) and (X₄, Y₄) shown in the graph in FIG.19. In other words, so long as each filtered averaged data point fallswithin 0.5 R to 1.5 R of the previously calculated center point (such aspoints (X₃, Y₃) and (X₂, Y₂)), those data points are not filtered out.However, if the averaged data point is not within these bounds (such aspoints (X₃, Y₃) or (X₄, Y₄)), the process not only clears out the valuesstored for those points, but also clears out the values of anypreviously obtained points (PX1, PY1), (PX2, PY2), and (PX3, PY3) thathave been obtained as candidate points for recalibration (step 374)Additionally, the most recently obtained averaged data point (CURX,CURY) is also cleared, and status indicator TSAT is set equal to 1 priorto returning to step 212 to begin collecting new raw data points. If themost recently obtained filtered averaged data point passes the test instep 372, the process then checks in step 376 whether TSAT is equal to1.

If, in step 376 (FIG. 14C), the microprocessor determines that TSAT isnot equal to 1, it knows that it has already obtained a first candidatedata point. As noted in the overview above, to ensure the accuracy ofany calculated center based upon three candidate data points, thecompass microprocessor 44 determines whether a triangle whose end pointsare defined as the three candidate data points is substantiallynon-obtuse. As a proactive measure to ensure that a filtered averageddata point is not stored as a candidate data point for use incalibration, the processor compares the distance between the mostrecently obtained filtered averaged data point with the previouslyobtained candidate point(s) to a minimum distance threshold MINDIST(step 380), as illustrated in FIG. 20. If the most recently obtainedfiltered averaged data point is not at least a distance MINDIST awayfrom the first candidate data point (PX1, PY1), the processor clears themost recently obtained filtered averaged data point (CURX, CURY) (step382) and returns to step 212 to begin collecting more raw data points.As pointed out above, the value of MINDIST is initially set equal to thedefault (25 counts) or calculated value of the radius R. As will bediscussed in more detail below, the value of MINDIST may be dynamicallydecreased if this criteria excludes data points on too frequent a basisor increased if the candidate data points that meet the MINDIST testnevertheless fail the subsequent tests as to whether the triangle isobtuse or too acute.

If TSAT is equal to 1 (step 376S), microprocessor 4 determines that ithad not previously obtained the first candidate data point (PX1, PY1)for calculating the center of the circle as part of the calibrationprocess. Thus, if TSAT is equal to 1, the microprocessor stores thevalue of CURB in PX1 and the value of CURY in PY1 sets TSAT equal to 2so that it will subsequently know that it has already obtained the firstcandidate data point and is looking for a second candidate data point.Then, microprocessor 44 clears the values in CURX and CURY (step 378)prior to executing an ignition toggle subroutine (step 450) andreturning to step 212 to begin collecting raw data points to obtain thesecond candidate data point for use in calibration.

The ignition toggle subroutine 450 is described below with reference toFIG. 17. Ignition toggle subroutine 450 begins in step 452 in whichmicroprocessor 44 determines whether it is the first time that TSTAT isequal to 1 for the current vehicle ignition cycle. If it is not thefirst-time that TSTAT has equaled 1 for the current ignition cycle,microprocessor 44 returns (step 454) to the step following step 450 inFIG. 14C, which happens to be a branch to step 212 of FIG. 4A, wherebythe next raw data point is obtained. If it is the first time that TSTAThas equaled 1 for the current ignition cycle, microprocessor 44 thendetermines in step 456 whether it is in an initial calibration mode. Ifyes, microprocessor 44 executes step 212 in FIG. 14A as indicated byreturn 458. If it is not the initial calibration, microprocessor 44determines whether the value IGN is equal to 0 in step 460. The valueIGN is initially set to 0 in step 202 (FIG. 14A). If the value IGN isequal to 0, microprocessor 44 sets IGN equal to 1 in step 462 prior toreturning via step 464 to step 212 of FIG. 14A. If IGN is not equal to0, microprocessor 44 sets ION equal to 0 in step 466 and sets the valueof MINDIST equal to MINDIST-2.

Next, microprocessor 44 determines in step 468 whether MINDIST is lessthan 20. If it is less than 20, microprocessor 44 sets MINDIST equal to20 in step 469 prior to returning to step 212 via return 470. Otherwise,if MINDIST is not less than 20, microprocessor 44 keeps MINDIST at thevalue set in step 466 prior to returning to step 212 via return 470. Aswill be explained further below, the value MINDIST is a minimum distancethreshold that must exist between candidate data points for use incalibration. Thus, the purpose of the ignition toggle subroutine is togradually decrease the minimum distance threshold so as to increase thetime in which three candidate data points may be obtained.

If the current averaged filtered data point (CURS, CURY) is more thanMINDIST away from the first candidate data point (PX1, PY1) (step 380,FIG. 14C), microprocessor 44 then checks whether TSAT is equal to 2 instep 334 (FIG. 14D). If TSAT is equal to 2, the microprocessorrecognizes that it has not yet obtained a second candidate data pointand therefore stores the values of CURX and CURY into PX2 and PY2,respectively, while setting TSAT equal to 4 and clearing the currentaveraged data point as stored in (CURX, CURY) (step 386). By settingTSAT equal to 4, the microprocessor will thereafter know that it hasalready obtained two candidate data points and is looking for a third.After performing step 336, the microprocessor returns to step 212 tobegin looking at new raw data points.

If TSAT is not equal to 2, microprocessor 44 will recognize that atleast two prior candidate data points have been obtained, and therefore,checks whether the distance of the current averaged data point (CURX,CURY) is at least MINDIST away from the second candidate data point(PX2, PY2) (step 388). If it is not a sufficient distance away from(PX2, PY2), the current averaged data point (CURX, CURY) is discarded instep 390 and microprocessor 44 thereafter returns to step 212 to obtainnew raw data points. On the other hand, if the current averaged datapoint is a sufficient distance away from the second candidate datapoint, the microprocessor then checks whether TSAT is equal to 4 in step392. If TSAT is equal to 4, the processor recognizes that it has not yetobtained a third candidate data point and therefore stores the value ofCURX and CURY in the variables PX3 and PY3, respectively, and clears thevalues stored as the current averaged data point (CURX, CURY) (step394).

Next, the microprocessor 44 computes the sides a, b, and c of a trianglehaving the three candidate data points (PX1, PY1), (PX2, PY2), and (PX3,PY3) as its corner points (step 396), where c is the longest side. Then,microprocessor 44 will determine whether the triangle formed by thethree candidate data points defines a substantially non-obtuse triangle(step 398). The processor performs this test by determining whether√{square root over (a²+b²)}/c≧0.92. Normally, an obtuse triangle is thatwhere the aforementioned relationship is less than 1. However, throughexperimentation, it has been discovered that some slightly obtusetriangles exhibit sufficient accuracy for the calibration of thecompass. Thus, those candidate data points that define a substantiallynon-obtuse triangle (e.g., acute triangles, right triangles, andslightly obtuse triangles) are considered acceptable for use incalibration of the compass system. An example of a non-acceptable obtusetriangle is illustrated in FIG. 21.

If the three candidate data points pass the obtuse triangle criteria instep 398, the three candidate data points are then tested to determinewhether they define an acute triangle that is too acute to ensureprecise calibration. An example of a triangle that is too acute isillustrated in FIG. 22. The processor determines that a triangle is nottoo acute in step 399 when the relation √{square root over (b²+c²)}/a isless than 3. If the three candidate data points pass the obtuse andtoo-acute tests in steps 399 and 399, the process continues with steps414-421 (FIG. 14E) whereby the center of the circle is computed basedupon these three candidate data points.

If, however, the three candidate data points fail to meet the obtuse andtoo-acute triangle criteria of steps 398 or 399, microprocessor 44 thenchecks in step 400 whether TSAT is equal to 8. Initially, when onlythree candidate data points have been obtained, TSAT will not be equalto 8, but will be equal to 4, and therefore the process will continue instep 402 whereby TSAT is set equal to 8 and the value of MINDIST isincremented by 8 counts. By setting TSAT equal to 8, the processor willthereafter recognize that it had obtained three candidate data pointsthat did not pass either the obtuse or too-acute data tests. Asexplained in more detail below, the microprocessor will neverthelessretain the values of the three candidate data points, but will return tostep 212 to begin collecting raw data points to define a fourthpotential candidate data point. Prior to returning to step 212, however,microprocessor 44 first checks whether incrementing MINDIST by 8 in step402 has raised the value of MINDIST above a maximum threshold of 120. Ifit has, microprocessor 44 sets the value of MINDIST to 120 in step 405prior to proceeding to step 212.

When the first three candidate data points fail either the obtuse ortoo-acute tests of steps 398 or 399 and TSAT has been set to 8, theprocessor will, upon reaching step 392 with a fourth potential candidatedata point, recognize that it has four data points and thereafterexecute step 406 whereby the processor utilizes this fourth data pointwhose X and Y values are stored in (CURX, CURY) in various combinationswith the, three previously-obtained candidate data points. For eachpossible combination, the sides of a triangle defined by those threepoints are computed and reviewed under the obtuse and too-acute tests insteps 378 and 399. If, for example, the fourth data point in combinationwith the fist and second candidate data points still does not meet oneof the obtuse or too-acute tests, the processor will then determine instep 400 that TSAT is equal to 8 and determine in step 408 whether allpossible combinations of triangles formed by the three candidate pointsand the fourth potential candidate point have been tested. If not, thesides of the next triangle are computed in step 406 and subjected to thetests in steps 398 and 399.

If any one of these triangles defined by a combination including thefourth data point meets both tests, the process proceeds to steps414-421 (FIG. 14E) to calculate the center of the circle and therebycalibrate the compass. On the other hand, if no combinations of thethree candidate data points and the fourth data point produce a trianglethat passes both the obtuse and too-acute triangle tests, the processreplaces the X and Y values stored for the first and second candidatedata points (PX1, PY1) and (PX2, PY2) with the X and Y values of thethird candidate data point (PX3, PY3) and the fourth potential candidatedata point (CURX, CURY, respectively). The values stored for the currentfiltered averaged data point (CURX, CURY) are then cleared and then TSATis set equal to 4 (step 412), and the process then returns to step 212to begin collecting the next set of raw data points. By setting TSATequal to 4, the processor will thereafter recognize that it has twocandidate data points and is looking for a third.

The process described above continues until three candidate data pointhave been obtained that meet all the foregoing tests. Once these threecandidate data points have been identified, microprocessor 44 executesstep 414 (FIG. 14E) whereby it solves the equation X²+Y²+AX+BY+C=0 forthe values A, B, and C using the values (PX1, PY1), (PX2, PY2), and(PX3, PY3) for X and Y. Then, the processor makes the determination thatthe newly calculated center point is (−A/2, −B/2). Next, the processorexecutes step 416 whereby it tests whether the newly calculated center(−A/2, −B/2) is within 0.5 times the radius R of the center point (CENX,CENY) as previously calculated. If the newly computed center point iswithin this range of values (as would be the case with point (X_(c2),Y_(c2)) illustrated in FIG. 23), the processor averages the newlyobtained center point equally with the previously obtained center pointand stores these averaged values into the variables CENX and CENY (step417). Additionally, a new radius R is calculated which is equal to√{square root over ((A²+B²−4C²)/4)}. The new value for the radius R isthen also stored as the new value of MINDIST. Subsequently, theprocessor executes step 421 whereby TSAT is set to 1 and all the valuesof the candidate data points and current data points and any othercounters are cleared prior to returning to step 212 to begin collectingraw data points to be used for subsequent calibrations. In this manner,each time three acceptable candidate points are identified, the compasssystem of the present invention will recalibrate itself based upon thesethree data points. Additionally, if the compass is in its initialcalibration mode, a flag is set to subsequently identify that thecompass is no longer in its initial calibration mode.

If, in step 416, the microprocessor determines that the newly calculatedcenter point falls outside of the acceptable 0.5 times R range (as wouldbe the case if the newly calculated center were (X_(C3), Y_(C3)) asillustrated in FIG. 23), the microprocessor proceeds to step 418. Itchecks whether the newly calculated center point (−A/2, −B/2) is withinR of the center point (CENX, CENY) as previously calculated. If thenewly calculated center point is not within R of the previouslycalculated center point, processor 44 advances to step 420 whereby thenewly calculated center point (−A/2, −B/2) is stored as the center point(CENX, CENY), the value √{square root over ((A²+B²−4C²)/4)} is stored asthe new radius R, and the value of the new radius R is stored as the newminimum distance MINDIST (step 420) prior to advancing to step 421.

If the newly calculated center point is not within R of the center point(CENX, CENY), microprocessor 44 proceeds to step 419 whereby it checkswhether it is the first time a newly calculated center point is notwithin 0.5 R of the current center point. If it is the first time, theprocessor performs the steps in block 417 whereby it averages in thenewly calculated center point with the previous center point. On theother hand, if it is not the first time that a newly calculated centerpoint is not within 0.5 R of the previous center point, the processorthen assumes that the previous center point is inaccurate and stores thevalues of the newly calculated center (−A/2, −B/2) in the values for thecurrent center point (CENX, CENY) (step 420). After calculating the newradius R and storing the value of R as the new value for MINDIST, theprocessor proceeds to step 421 where it clears all the prior candidatevalues and flags and returns to step 212.

Having obtained a center point for the circular plot of data, the offsetof the center from the origin of the reference coordinate plane is thenused in step 359 (FIG. 14B) to offset the raw data point used to computethe vehicle's current heading.

The calibration technique of the present invention allows the compass tobe initially calibrated with multiple driving patterns. One such patternis to drive the vehicle in circles as is typically used in initiallycalibrating most commercially available compasses. The compass of thepresent invention can also be calibrated by pointing the vehicle inthree different directions. Thus, the compass of the present inventionmay be calibrated in smaller areas where it is difficult to turncomplete circles. During initial calibration, the compass system of thepresent invention preferably utilizes all the filtering and datachecking with the exceptions of (1) checking whether the vehicle istraveling at an excess of 10 miles per hour, (2) determining whether araw data point is within 3 counts of a previous raw data point, (3)determining whether a data point is within 0.5 R and 1.5 R of the centerof the circle, and (4) determining whether the candidate data pointsdefine a triangle that is too acute. By eliminating these filtering andprocessing requirements, the compass system may obtain an initial centerpoint more quickly, yet still provide a relatively accurate calibration.

Although the above process is described as utilizing numerous filtersand tests that are intended to ensure the accuracy of calibration, itwill be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the variousconcepts embodied within the above process may be implemented in variouscombinations with or without some of these filtering processes andtests. Although eliminating a filtering step or test from theabove-described detailed embodiment may have a slight adverse effect onthe accuracy at which the inventive compass system calibrates itself,the accuracy of calibration may not be significantly affected by theremoval of any one or more of the filters or test steps.

Although the present invention has been described with reference toflowcharts that illustrate specific steps and sequences of steps, itwill be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the flowcharts areprovided merely for purposes of description of the invention and thatthe present invention may be implemented utilizing various differentprogramming sequences. Further, although the present invention has beendescribed with respect to a circular plot of data and triangles definedby the raw data points, the concepts of the invention may similarly beapplied in compass systems where the processor does not specificallytranslate each sensor reading into X and Y coordinates that are plottedin an X-Y coordinate plane. For example, some compass systems analyzethe output signals from each of the sensors separately. Thus, regardlessof how the processor of a compass system actually perceives theelectrical signals from the sensors, the processing of these signals maynevertheless fall within the spirit and scope of the present inventionif the output signals from the sensors may otherwise be considered aspoints within an X-Y coordinate plane that are essentially processed ina manner equivalent to the present invention.

The above description is considered that of the preferred embodimentonly. Modifications of the invention will occur to those skilled in theart and to those who make or use the invention. Therefore, it isunderstood that the embodiment shown in the drawings and described aboveis merely for illustrative purposes and not intended to limit the scopeof the invention, which is defined by the following claims asinterpreted according to the principles of patent law, including theDoctrine of Equivalents.

1. A method for calibrating an electronic compass, comprising:calculating a first averaged data point using a first predeterminednumber of data points; calculating a second averaged data point using asecond predetermined number of data points; calculating a third averageddata point; calculating deviation compensation data based on acombination of the first averaged data point, the second averaged datapoint, and the third averaged data point; determining if a vehicle ismoving a predetermined speed; and obtaining data for at least one of thefirst averaged data point, the second averaged data point, and the thirdaveraged data point based on the determination of vehicle speed.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising displaying a heading based on datathat has been received from the electronic compass and that has beencompensated based on the deviation compensation data.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein calculating the first averaged data point comprisescalculating the first averaged data point based on a predeterminednumber of consecutive points that meet a predetermined criteria.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising using the combination of theaveraged data points to calculate an x-axis offset and a y-axis offset.5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first predetermined number of datapoints and the second predetermined number of data points are a samenumber.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating deviationcompensation based on a combination of the first averaged data point,the second averaged data point, the third averaged data point comprises;determining that the first averaged data point, the second averaged datapoint, and the third averaged data point do not meet a predeterminedcriteria; determining a combination of any two of the first, second, andthird averaged data points and a fourth averaged data point that meetthe predetermined criteria; and calculating the offset using thecombination of three averaged data points that meet the predeterminedcriteria.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the predetermined criteriaincludes at least one of; a. the data points are a minimum distanceapart from each other; b. three of the data points do not form asubstantially obtuse triangle; and c. three of the data points do notform a triangle that is too acute.